London Design Festival 2017 – 5 must see installations

Villa Walala, by Camille Walala

Known for her playful graphics and eye-popping colour palette, French graphic artist Camille Walala’s LDF installation will take the form of a soft-textured, inflatable “building-block castle”.

Based at Broadgate Circus in the heart of London’s financial district, the piece will be made from vinyl, sealed PVC inners and high-strength nylon, and will be covered with the designer’s trademark digitally printed patterns.

The idea behind the brightly coloured installation is to “visually dominate an otherwise grey space” and “inject a little joy into what may otherwise have been just another day at the office”, says LDF.

Villa Walala can be found at Exchange Square, 100 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 2RH from 16-24 September.

Urban Cabin, by Mini Living

Following architect Asif Khan’s series of “forest” environments revealed at last year’s LDF, and the modular living space created by  New York architectural practice SO-IL (Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu) for this year’s Milan Design Week, Mini’s long-term research project returns for this year’s festival with a new installation by local architect Sam Jacob.

Designed to explore the “future of urban habitats”, the micro-house will include features that reflect its local environment, including a mini library filled with literature documenting the history of living in London, which visitors will be able to swap and share among each other.

Urban Cabin runs from 16-24 September at the Courtyard at Oxo Tower Wharf, SE1 9GY.

Drop in the Ocean, by Brodie Neill

London-based industrial designer Brodie Neill will continue to confront the problem of marine pollution seen in his work for last year’s London Design Biennale with his upcoming installation at LDF.

The installation will use the same ocean terrazzo material made from recycled ocean plastics that Neill developed for the Australian Pavilion at the Biennale last year, transforming the 30m high atrium of the Foster+Partners designed ME London hotel for the duration of the festival.

“The installation is a continuation of my work drawing attention to the global issue of ocean pollution through contemporary design, and upcycling waste streams to create innovative materials,” says Neill.

Drop in the Ocean will be on display from 14-30 September at the Me London Hotel, 336-337 Strand, London, WC2R 1HA.

Reflection Room, by Flynn Talbot

One of the highlights to catch at LDF’s main hub at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum this year will undoubtedly be Australian lighting designer Flynn Talbot takeover of its Prince Consort Gallery.

The vaulted space will be turned into an immersive, blue and orange coloured experience, offering visitors a fragmented view of shifting lights and faceted reflections.

Meanwhile, black, stretchy, reflective panels made from barrisol will be incorporated as a nod to the history of the gallery space, which previously housed over 30,000 fabric samples.

Reflection Room will be on display from 16-24 September at the V&A Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL.

Silent Arch, by Bharat and Jean

Part of the second iteration of South London’s Brixton Design Trail, this installation from local design studio Bharat&Jean will look to make a strong political statement about the ongoing regeneration in the area.

The arch-shaped structure made from lightweight, acoustic panels will take pride of place on Atlantic Road; also the site of the controversial redevelopment of Brixton’s railway arches that has led to a large number of evictions in recent months.

The Silent Arch can be found at 25 Atlantic Road, SW9 8HX from 16-24 September.